About Us
Mission Statement
The Sope
Creek Elementary School Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax- exempt
organization which is an educational non-profit public foundation dedicated
to supporting the mission and educational goals of both Sope Creek Elementary
and the Cobb County Schools. The Foundation will provide resources to
enhance the school ability to create rich educational experiences for
all students, thus instilling in them the desire to participate in education
as life-long learners.
History
In 1996 a group of parents interested in
helping enrich the educational opportunities at Sope Creek, as well
as providing a way for parents, community, and corporations to
contribute and support education and obtain a tax benefit, formed
the Sope Creek Elementary School Foundation, Inc. The Foundation is
a Georgia non-profit corporation that has its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt
status from the IRS. The business of the Foundation is managed and
conducted by a Board of Directors. The Bylaws provide that the Board
of Directors will always include a representative from the PTA and a
member of the faculty.
Our Commitment to every student at Sope Creek
We sponsor fee-based after
school programs in Spanish and Chess that are open to all students (based
on grade level). Students
who do not participate in these programs still benefit because 10% of
the fees from these activities are paid to the Foundation!
Our teacher grants are awarded to teachers from many different
grade levels with an effort to reach as many students as possible.
Finally, we have Foundation Council representatives from every
classroom so that we can keep all families informed about our programs.
We believe it is vital that our funding benefit every child at
Sope Creek because Every Child is a SMARTKID!
How is the Foundation structured?
The Foundation is governed
by a Board of Directors which includes parents, community leaders, school
administrators and teacher liaisons who volunteer their time and resources
to accomplish the Foundation’s objectives. The newly formed Foundation
Council is comprised of parent representatives from each classroom.
These Foundation Friend Council Members provide a vital link between
the Foundation Board and the parents of Sope Creek through the efforts
of the Foundation Friend Council Chair, Lucy Barry (lh_barry@bellsouth.net).
What does the Foundation do?
The Sope Creek Elementary
School Foundation raises funds and allocates these resources to expand
the educational opportunities of our students. Our priorities for this
year can be divided into three areas:
Fund Teacher Grants and supplement
Cobb County’s Technology allocations
Teacher grants are awarded
each year in response to grant requests submitted by Sope Creek teachers.
These grant requests can be for individual classrooms or for an entire
grade level, or for cross-grade level projects. In the past, the grants
have been used for the purchase of Smart Boards, TV/DVD combos, lap
top computers for Counselors, Drake Card Reader for the Speech Department,
Frogs & sharks for Target…and many more.
Technology supplements were
the basis for the formation of the Sope Creek Foundation. Over the years,
the Foundation’s supplemental purchases of computers for our classrooms
significantly expanded our school’s computer inventory.